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/ 27 December 2006
The South African Communist Party (SACP) has taken a swipe at credit granters for embarking on a frenzy of "willy nilly giving out credit cards and enticing unsuspecting consumers through millions of cellphone messages and letters, offering what appears to be cheap credit" to the workers and the poor.
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/ 27 December 2006
Israel will take military action against Palestinian rocket-launching squads in the Gaza Strip despite a month-old ceasefire, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s office said on Wednesday. ”A directive has been given to the defence establishment to take pinpoint action against the rocket-launching squads,” Olmert’s office said in a statement.
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/ 27 December 2006
In 2000, good mates Matthew Hayden and Andrew Symonds found themselves in the water struggling for survival after their boat capsized while fishing near Queensland’s North Stradbroke Island. On that occasion the determined pair swam more than a kilometre to shore and safety.
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/ 27 December 2006
The Rietvlei Wetland Reserve has been closed after thousands of dead fish washed up on its banks, the City of Cape Town said on Wednesday. ”More than 10 tons of fish are estimated to have washed up along the 3km banks of the wetland water,” said spokesperson Dalton Gibbs. Test results are expected on Thursday from the city’s scientific services.
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/ 27 December 2006
Japanese romantics will have the chance to hear some truly flowery language with the help of a playful gadget purported to express the feelings of plants. Through the voice of a small doll, the device will share what the plant is upposedly ”thinking” when a person strokes it.
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/ 27 December 2006
England captain John Terry may need surgery on his injured back, Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said on Tuesday. ”The medical department have said surgery might be a possibility,” Mourinho said. ”I don’t know how long he will be out for — three days, three weeks or three months, I don’t know.”
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/ 27 December 2006
A Taliban commander confirmed on Wednesday that the rebels’ military chief in southern Afghanistan had been killed in a United States air strike on December 19, adding his death was a blow for the Islamist movement. The US military said last week Akhtar Mohammad Osmani, who had close links to Osama bin Laden, had been killed in an air strike.
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/ 27 December 2006
Right-wing extremists who have nursed their grievances on the sidelines since the end of the apartheid era are poised to throw themselves into the mix of South Africa’s multi-racial democracy. Long convinced that Aids and abortion are all part of a plot against the white community, followers of the Boerestaat party are hoping the electorate will start listening to their siren calls.
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/ 27 December 2006
Telecommunications around Asia were severely disrupted on Wednesday after earthquakes off Taiwan damaged undersea cables, slowing internet services and hindering financial transactions, particularly in the currency market. Banks and businesses across the region reported problems with communications, with some telephone lines cut and internet access slowing to a crawl.
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/ 27 December 2006
Manchester United extended their lead at the top of the English Premiership to four points on Boxing Day as champions Chelsea, their nearest challengers, suffered a rare slip up at home. United cruised to a 3-1 victory over Wigan Athletic at Old Trafford while Chelsea were held to a 2-2 draw by Reading at Stamford Bridge.